Sleepypod Reinvents the Dog Safety Harness for All Passenger Safety

Sleepypod®, a Pasadena-based company recognized for reinventing pet products through innovative design, today introduces Clickit™ Utility. Evolutionary in design, Clickit Utility is the first dog safety harness to incorporate three-points of attachment to absorb force in a frontal collision by dissipating energy and keep the dog in the car seat during an impact. Clickit Utility is similar in concept to the three-point seatbelt federally required in all vehicles. Straps enclosed in Clickit Utility’s broad, padded vest hug the upper torso of a dog to absorb forward movement, while belts anchor the lower torso and reduce forward and lateral movement. The three-point design that secures the dog in its space diminishes the opportunity for collision with parts of the vehicle and passengers, and reduces the chance for traumatic injuries associated with one-point dog safety harness designs that either catapult a dog’s upper torso forward into anything in it’s path like front seats, passengers, and even windows, or submarine the dog meaning to catapult the dog’s lower torso forward into anything in it’s path.

Unlike traditional one-point dog safety harnesses, Clickit Utility’s unique three-point design reduces damaging forces and keeps the upper and lower torso controlled and restrained. Upon impact, breakaway slide buckles and shoulder adjustment straps are designed to break or slide to decrease damaging forces by decelerating the force while the dog remains restrained by the primary harness structure. The harness structure’s primary seat belt webbing and hardware absorb the shifted and decelerated force. In combination, the wide-webbed harness structure and vest promote even distribution of force across the dog’s chest to lessen the chance of injury. A combination of tethers and shoulder belts create a synergistic effect to hold the dog securely. All critical safety components were static tensile tested and determined Clickit Utility’s strength classification to be superior strength.

“In researching and testing a range of safety harnesses currently available in the marketplace, we were shocked by crash tests results and injury possibilities,” says Greg Mote a product designer and Sleepypod owner. “Sleepypod knew there had to be another way to secure a dog while reducing injury. After many designs and multiple crash tests we found our three-point safety harness design yielded superior results. Crash test results show that unlike traditional one-point safety harness designs, Clickit Utility not only keeps a dog from becoming a projectile, it keeps a dog’s upper and lower torsos in the car seat during impact thereby improving overall dog safety.” Clickit Utility’s three-point design is intended for use in the rear passenger seat. Crash tested at the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213 standard set for child safety restraints, Clickit Utility passed the 30 m.p.h. frontal crash.

View crash test footage at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbFAlJPANoM 

Clickit Utility is also designed to secure a dog in the cargo area of a sports utility vehicle or truck in two-point application by attaching to cargo anchors. Accredited crash test facilities do not test for human safety in the cargo area of a vehicle. In lieu, Sleepypod crash tested Clickit Utility’s two-point application at the FMVSS No. 213 standard. The two-point application also passed the 30 m.p.h. frontal crash test in a rear passenger seat which has more opportunity for collision with fixed objects and other passengers than in a vehicle cargo area’s generous space. Crash testing was performed at two facilities: at an independent, third party accredited lab, and also at a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved crash test facility.